Crush
by Frenetic-Kinetic
Summary: Post-FFX-2. AU. Paine has something urgent to tell Baralai. But what could it possibly be? One-shot.


**A/N:** Another short and sweet PainexBaralai fic. I really can't get enough of reading and writing about this pairing. I hope you like it. Please review!

**Edit:** I edited a couple of things; any grammatical errors are now fixed and I changed the single speech marks to doubles.

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><p>Being this high up, on the floating city of Bevelle, meant that an average gale down below was quite a gale above.<p>

Paine had waited for over an hour on the balcony of New Yevon's headquarters. Baralai was late. Again. Of course, running Spira was more important than addressing the silver-haired female's needs. The latter would wait patiently.

"Paine!"

She turned around in response. "Hey. You're finally free?" She gave a sliver of a smile, pleased that her brown-eyed friend was out at last. He returned a merry chuckle.

"It's not a prison, despite what you might have heard…although I can see why you'd call it one. But never mind that. You look frozen." A helping hand pulled the young woman to her feet. "Come on, we'll head inside so you can warm up."

A few minutes of silence were all he could take as they wandered. "How are things?"

"Nothing's changed, really." She gave herself a mental kick. Things _had_ changed for her. Just thinking of this made her feel uncomfortable. She longed for him to change the subject, but he didn't.

"You said you wanted to tell me something?"

The young female nodded, her furtive expression puzzling him. "Can we get to your office first? It's kind of personal."

"Of course." This was driving him mad. Just what was bothering her so much?

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><p>He slotted the door into its frame once he and Paine were in the office. She was feeling warmer, and it wasn't just from the heating. She immediately leant against the desk in an effort to steady herself and find something to preoccupy her hands.<p>

"So tell me," the white-haired male said, his tenor more of a bark than intended, making her anxious about spilling the beans. "Er, sorry, I'm just so curious. Didn't mean to yell. Go on."

"Okay." She didn't say anything else after that one word, instead only opening and closing her mouth, silent.

"I promise not to laugh."

That made Paine feel a little better, so she spoke. "I've had a _thing_ that's bothered me for quite some time. Something big. To do with _you_." The overload of feelings became too much and now she felt it was time to just let it all out. "I love you, Baralai."

He burst into laughter; a nervous reaction. It was a sharp stab into her heart.

"You said you wouldn't laugh."

He cleared his throat, settling nerves and looking at her countenance clearly once again-the brightness of her irises, rose dusting her cheeks and how she was fading into the darkness of her outfit, the protective shell keeping her true self from the judgemental eyes of others.

"You're really serious, aren't you?" he enquired. Playing pranks of this sort wasn't her style. "Sorry about the laughing. I just never thought…why me?"

Once again, she was lost for words, so he spoke instead.

"How long?"

"A while…before Vegnagun."

"How _long_ before?"

"…two years." A fiercer blush came across her face.

"Wow…" In light of this new information, he suddenly realised something too. That took them to when they were all part of the Crimson Squad. That all felt so long ago, but it really had only been two years. It would be lying if he said he'd never watched her either from the corner of his eyes whilst they were camped out in a forest or the outskirts of a town somewhere, when she was preoccupied with equipment and never looked his way. And now he knew she had done exactly the same thing. It would also be lying if he said he found her unattractive. Pulling himself back to the present, a sly smirk briefly flashed across his lips, something Paine blinked and missed. His expression returned to a soft gaze, his body drifted closer to the desk-closer to her. The movement she did notice and unfortunately it was only making her all the coyer about revealing her emotions.

With the teen distracted, a tanned hand came upwards and fingers passed through the locks at the side of her head, just above her ear. Her lips parted to let out a light, aroused breath, eyes temporarily narrowing. He revelled in these feelings exposed with just that one touch.

"W-what are you doing, Baralai?"

The twenty year old planted both hands on the desk, either side of her hips. His tenor dulled into a cool purr as he leant closer. "Does it matter? Looks like you're enjoying it."

Her face reddened even more, if that was possible. "You're so…_close_." She was rewarded another brush of the hair. A moan slipped out.

"See…" he smiled. She tried to fidget, but received a possessive growl, forcing her to stay where she was. Instead, her knees weakened, unable to keep her upright anymore. Paine had never seen this side of the male before, and to be honest, it was overstimulating, forcing her to collapse to her knees before him and give a pleading gaze upwards. He followed her down, petting her head.

"Cute…" His eyes filled with gentility once more. Perhaps it would be cruel to continue the foreplay. "Paine?"

"Mmm?"

"The feeling's mutual."

Gloved fingers gripped the collar of his long coat. It was time to move onto the next stage. She wanted more of him. And he would give it to her.

He straddled her and roughly locked lips. Hands stroked down her back, forcing it to arch in response. They fell backwards onto the floor, his crotch riding into hers, tongues exploring each other's mouths, his passing down her throat. Fingers caressed her spiky locks whilst her digits caressed beneath his coat and ached to get to bare skin. Leaning up, the male pulled off both his coat and shirt. The eighteen year old tugged at his trousers too, but first the belts of her attire had to be unfastened. He was on top, after all. Bit by bit, they came off. The tight-fitting ebony shorts and underwear slipped past her knees. Now his trousers were pushed off. The female knew what he wanted. He slid smoothly and gently inside of her. Blood rushed upwards to her head, making everything feel dizzy.

The rhythm quickened, the panting deepened. It was everything she had imagined and dreamt about. She clawed at his body, pulling him in further.

"Harder…" she hissed. Every time he pulled out, he then slammed roughly into her, pressing until he couldn't go any further. Being within her was beginning to feel slippery. She was getting near her limit, swallowing his kisses. His member hardened significantly, pressing against her rim, being squeezed and caressed in exactly the right way.

Both withdrawing after reaching their climaxes, they curled up together on the soft carpet. Paine felt safe in Baralai's arms and knew she'd done the right thing.

"I…love you," she said weakly.

"I love you too," he whispered into her ear.

**The End**


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